


The Funeral of Richard Strand

by asianfrustration13



Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: Angst, F/M, Faked Deaths, Wakes & Funerals, Why Can't I Write Fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 04:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6270163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asianfrustration13/pseuds/asianfrustration13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Strand promptly arrived at 10am on the day of his funeral." Based on the Tumblr prompt of "The ways you said 'I love you' in awe, the first time you realized it".</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Funeral of Richard Strand

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the tumblr prompt by E-Salvatore: The way to say 'I Love You': In awe, the first time you realized it. Thanks for the prompt and enjoy reading!

Strand promptly arrived at 10am on the day of his funeral. He wore a regular black suit and carried a black umbrella for the predicted rain at this time. As much as he wanted to assure the attendees, his friends, on his survival, he knew he could not. The Order of the Cenophus could not know he was alive unless he wanted to endanger those around him.

So naturally, he faked his own death.

It was a plan in the making for a few months and only a few knew about it – Amalia, Melissa, and Charlie. Even then, each woman only knew a part of his plan in order to protect them as well.

He watched from afar as cars pulled up to the funeral home and made sure to keep to the shadows. People had begun to arrive, very few were late. Strand laughed quietly to himself, he found it a little funny how those who were constantly late to meetings with him were suddenly early to his funeral and vice versa.

Once everyone he deemed important had already arrived, he found it fit to walk into the funeral home and attend the ceremony. It was, of course, a closed casket affair to prevent anyone from being the wiser of his living status and the fact that the body in the casket was actually a wax replica.

Some of the pews inside were already filled with mourners, people Strand had worked closely with. Ruby and some of his interns sat off to the side, heads bowed in respect to heir ‘deceased’ boss. Charlie and Melissa sat next to them, quietly whispering to them words of comfort. They did their best to not show any tears and Strand pretended not to see any. In fact, he pretended to not know them at all in order to maintain his cover as a mourning colleague of himself.

Other pews had interns from PNWS shamelessly crying, big tears rolling down their faces. Strangely enough, they were silently crying, biting their lips from letting out any noise. Terry and Paul were there as well, heads also bowed in respect. Nic sat with his head in his hands, Amalia next to him. She was gently rubbing circles on his back in an effort to console the man.

Alex sat in the front pew, staring blankly at the casket.

Strand paused in the aisle before sitting on the opposite pew of Alex. He too stared at the casket, feeling slight discomfort in attending his own funeral. When Tannis Braun arrived, he clenched his fists as the other man sat farther down on the same pew as Alex. Braun, like Nic, held his head in his hands.

The first to speak was Charlie, who gave a speech about the days before Coralee’s disappearance and how much Strand loved her. She was followed by Ruby and then Melissa. A few of Strand’s colleagues also made short speeches, including Braun, who said a few kind words about the man who called him a charlatan.

Strand took this opportunity to recite the alphabet during Braun’s speech.

Paul, Terry, and Nic also made short speeches about Strand and how much they were wary of him at first before coming to a strange understanding with him. Some PNWS interns also went up, most gave one or two heartfelt sentences about the man that both frightened and inspired them to do better. One intern even admitted to switching majors because of Strand. Alex, strangely enough, did not make a speech nor did she stop staring at the casket.

When speeches ended, the pallbearers lifted the casket and took it away. All of the mourners rose and left the pews, leaving Alex and Strand behind in the room.

Concerned, Strand turned towards Alex and called out to her. “Miss,” he said in a thick, Russian accent,” it’s time to go.”

“He was my friend, you know?” Alex whispered so lowly that strand barely caught it. “He was my friend and now he’s gone.”

“Miss?”

Alex still didn’t stop staring at where the casket used to be. “It’s funny, I was so sure he would live until all the Black Tapes were put to rest, were debunked. And now, he’s gone and left the tapes unsolved.” She sighed, leaning her head back to stare at the celling. “I miss him. I know it may not seem like it, but I miss him.”

Then Alex turned to him, a sad smile on her face. “I don’t know why I can’t cry. I’ve been trying to cry for days but nothing is coming out. Is that a bad thing?”

For the moment when Alex turned towards him, Strand panicked. He then remembered about his dyed hair and colored contacts before internally sighing. “No, it’s not,” he replied quietly. “It just means that it hasn’t hit you yet, that’s all.”

She gave him a small hum before turning back to the ceiling and closing her eyes.

“He loves you, you know,” Strand blurted out. “He loves you,” he repeated again, quietly this time. The realization of how much this was true was suffocating him and was awed at how much he really did love her.

“Loved,” Alex corrected before standing up. She gave him one last smile before leaving to follow the others. “He’s gone now, so he _loved_ me. Unfortunately, I still love him.”


End file.
